I am writing this letter on behalf of Richard who I have had the pleasure of mediating two wrongful death nursing home claims in the past (6) months... Richard had an excellent grasp of the issues affecting both of these claims and was able to facilitate both parties' recognition of the strengths and weaknesses of their case as well as the potential outcome of litigated issues... I would not hesitate to use Mr. Strauss to mediate claims involving personal injury or death, particularly if those cases were large and complex.
...Mr. Strauss has extensive experience especially in the area of nursing home cases and understood the issues from the Plaintiff's as well as the Defendant's points of view. This knowledge, understanding and experience proved to be of great importance in settling the case... I have already recommended his services to other partners in my firm.
I am writing both to congratulate you and thank you for our recent successful mediation. The reasons that I decided to take a chance on you were... I was totally confident that the case could not be settled at mediation under any circumstances, so it really did not make any difference who the mediator was. In this regard, I had the input of the Plaintiffs' attorney, who reported that he "extremely pessimistic" that the case could be settled at its present stages...
The defect in all of the above logical reasoning was that none of us had ever met you. Your background in the health care liability arena is impressive enough, but your resume pales in comparison to "that thing you do" when you are engaged in the actual mediation process. I believe that you possess a unique combination of professional training, experience and "people" skills that entitle you to adopt the personal motto "I never met a case I couldn't get settled".
Please feel free to share this letter if you are interested in spreading the word that 1) you have extraordinary competence in the health care liability field, ...3) you have proved that you manage to get matters resolved, even against all odds.
I recently had the opportunity to mediate a nursing home death case in Texas with Richard Strauss as mediator. The case was filed by one of the best Texas nursing home plaintiffs' attorneys in one of the worst Texas venues and carried significant exposure for our client. Although I had significant doubt that the case would settle, due in large part to the efforts of the mediator, we were able to resolve the case on a very reasonable basis, in relation to other Texas nursing home settlements.
I found Richard Strauss to be knowledgeable both in the medical aspects of the case and the unique exposure factors with which nursing home defense attorneys are faced in Texas at this time. He remained objective and was able to pacify the unsophisticated plaintiffs through a couple of stages in the mediation where I was certain we had met an impasse.
I recently had the opportunity to participate on behalf of a nursing home defendant, in a case mediated by Richard M. Strauss. I was very impressed with Mr. Strauss' skills as a mediator. I found him to be completely objective and impartial. There were significant insurance issues involved in my case, and Richard's ability to quickly analyze and effectively communicate those issues to the other side was crucial to the success of the mediation.
...At the recommendation of my insurance carrier client, AIG, I used Richard as a mediator in the...case, and based upon his excellent performance in that case, I also used him recently, in a much more difficult case... It was rather unusual to use an out of town mediator in either of these cases as Houston has some very excellent mediators locally... However, I found Richard to be extremely competent and effective at his job... Both of the referenced cases were death cases and were possessed of very significant emotional attachments, not only by the bereaved Plaintiffs, but by the Defendant owners of the nursing facilities involved... Richard was able to work through these very potentially volatile emotional issues with both sides and bring the cases to what I have to consider to be a very successful conclusion.
I recently have had the opportunity to have Mr. Strauss serve as a mediator in a complex piece of nursing home litigation involving not only the problems with nursing home litigation in general but complicated by issues of bankruptcy. Mr. Strauss was extremely effective as a mediator and helped us bring the case to a resolution... Mr. Strauss was able to reduce the complexity of this litigation to understandable terms for the Plaintiffs... Considering the bankruptcy issues involved, it was extremely beneficial for Mr. Strauss to be able to discuss such complex issues in day to day terms. He was also extremely persuasive with my clients including both insurance representatives as well as facility representatives... I would highly recommend Mr. Strauss as a mediator in complex litigation matters. He is particularly adept at the nursing home and medical malpractice issues as was found in our mediation.
I recently had the opportunity to again mediate with Richard M. Strauss. This case was an HMO liability case which had many complicated legal nuances due to the unsettled nature of HMO liability in this state... Also, the case presented fairly large damage exposure, requiring a mediator with substantial experience to handle the case... Though the case did not settle on the day of mediation, it settled soon thereafter, much to the credit of Richard continuing to stick with the case in assisting the parties and bringing the matter to final closure.